The Spot-winged Tit – A Painting : Acrylic on paper 8″x11″

It was early in the season. We were climbing a steep trail near Chitkul in the Baspa valley on a clear day. A cool crisp breeze was flowing. The landscape was waking up from its winter slumber, and getting ready for the summer. Snow was still lying in the spots protected from the sun but in the sunny patches flowers were blooming.

We were at around 3700 meters, high above the Chitkul village, walking through a sea of mauve Rhododendron flowers in dwarf rhododendron (Rhododendron campanulatum) forest when we were suddenly surrounded by a hunting party of about a dozen small birds. There were some tits, a few warblers and a solitary woodpecker. This Spot-winged Tit (Parus melanolophus) came quite close to us while flitting around in the shrubbery. We enjoyed its company for about 5 minutes before it flew away into the forest. This painting tries to preserve and share the memory of this encounter.